Former President Donald Trump said in an interview this week that he would not sign the Republican Party’s “beat Biden” loyalty pledge that requires candidates to state that they will support the GOP nominee for president in 2024 if they want to attend the party’s primary debates.
“I have a problem with the debate for another reason: I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” Trump said in an interview this week. “Why would I sign a pledge? There are people on there that I wouldn’t have.”
“I wouldn’t have certain people as, you know, somebody that I endorse,” he added. “So they want you to sign a pledge.”
Newsmax noted that Trump did not specify which candidates he would never endorse, but he repeatedly attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson during the interview, the outlet added.
“I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president,” Trump told Newsman host Eric Bolling. “So right there, there’s a problem right there. There’s a problem.”
Trump won't sign RNC pledge to support the 2024 nominee if he loses the GOP primary. pic.twitter.com/APVXGITpSg
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 10, 2023
The “Beat Biden Pledge” that the candidates have to sign states in-part: “Additionally, I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden.”
“I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party,” it added.
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Trump told Breitbart News earlier this month that he had not made a decision about whether he would participate in the debate.
The Daily Wire reached out to the Republican National Committee (RNC) to ask if Trump would be allowed to participate in the debates if he did not sign the pledge, and a spokesperson responded by pointing to a statement that chairwoman Ronna McDaniel made several weeks ago.
“Everybody has to sign the beat Biden pledge, everybody, it’s across the board, the rules aren’t changing, we’ve been very vocal with them,” McDaniel told CNN’s Chris Wallace.
The Daily Wire also asked about remarks from Christie, who has suggested that he will sign the pledge but may not honor it later on after signing it.
The RNC responded by again pointing to McDaniel’s statement during the CNN interview, in which she said: “It’s not just the pledge, not just a piece of paper. Intent is going to be part of it, too. I think the debate committee is going to meet, and they don’t want somebody saying, ‘I’m blatantly lying.’ You have to say I’m going to support the nominee whomever the voters choose.”